Apps and Maps

Recently I tested a navigation app for cycling. It was a test "after the fact". Here is what happened and what conclusions I came to. 

I had discovered a most wonderful, elegant way to cycle directly from my home in Berlin Prenzlauer-Berg to Nauen, a small town in the West of Berlin. It's just some 50 km way. On my old-fashiond map (yes, on real paper) I found a combination of cycle paths that would lead me straight into that town. I could have seen this combination long ago, but for some strange reason the green lines for the bike paths never added up in my mind - I must have been blind-folded. The reason why I saw this way of getting out and about eventually was probably because I planned a tour with some friends, triggering a more acute perception. For those who are intrerested in geographical details, here is what the tour looked like - https://www.strava.com/activities/540417248

Now, everyone is using apps these days. I do it myself, obviously, logging tours with Strava. With these apps, you can do away with paper. The app even talks to you, I was told by my friends. It tells you where to turn left and right, you don't need to turn your head down to look at the map on top of your handlebar bag, you don't need to slow down for looking - you can enjoy every bit of nature and trust the voice of the app. So I tried to plan the tour we had just ridden with Komoot, a popular outdoor navigation app here. My friends used it to send me a first tour proposal, so I was courious. I asked the app - or rather the website part of it - to navigate me from where I live to Nauen. But Komoot wouldn't offer me the way we rode. It would lead me along a slightly shorter, but much less green way. Yes, there are options for three types of bikes, but regardless of the choice of bike, the app wouldn't come up with what is - in my view - the most elegant way to Nauen.

Apparently, navigation routines are one thing, humans looking at reliable maps are another thing. Both make mistakes, both can miss things - as I did, not "seeing" the way to Nauen for years. But just using the app navigation function, I would have lost out on the big picture. Having such a larger picture can be extremely helpful because you can discover new ways of reaching your destination. (And alas, the big picture doesn't really fit onto the size of a smartphone display.)

Looking at real maps, possibly on paper, does have its own advantages. You are the master of planning, no outsourcing to a robot. Finding a way is a creative adventure in itself - on the map and on the roads and paths. My advise would be: Use the best and most suitable real map for your outdoor adventure - and this map isn't necessarily available online. I know of some English bike packers who used Google Maps and then had to carry their bikes through a stream and up the hill, more like ramblers.

Apps are fine, maps are fine. Just don't loose out on the big picture so that you can remain the master of your own tour (errors included).